Lapua Brass

I cant say enough about Lapua Brass. I have some that has been fire formed to the .243 Ackley. I have put it through the ringer running up some really way to hot loads and still the pockets are tight and the brass keeps giving me some super great groups. .306 with a 100gr bullet. For me, I have never ever shot groups that tight with anything in the past. I did have a .243 Ackely built by CPR, that helped, however I never expected that ..................then last week I shot some Berger 80gr FB and Wow............... .184 and .165

I cant say enough about Lapua Brass. I have some that has been fire formed to the .243 Ackley. I have put it through the ringer running up some really way to hot loads and still the pockets are tight and the brass keeps giving me some super great groups. .306 with a 100gr bullet. For me, I have never ever shot groups that tight with anything in the past. I did have a .243 Ackely built by CPR, that helped, however I never expected that ..................then last week I shot some Berger 80gr FB and Wow............... .184 and .165

I have a question for you.....................If shooting a .280 Ackley, Im sure that Lapua makes 30-06 brass. If you ran a 30-06 case into a FL .280 die and then fire formed the case in a Ackley chamber would you need to do anything else to the case once its fire formed, like turning the neck inside or out .............is this a simple process or difficult?

I have a question for you.....................If shooting a .280 Ackley, Im sure that Lapua makes 30-06 brass. If you ran a 30-06 case into a FL .280 die and then fire formed the case in a Ackley chamber would you need to do anything else to the case once its fire formed, like turning the neck inside or out .............is this a simple process or difficult?

G

Yes Lapua makes the 30/06 brass.

The 30/06 brass is from .030 thousandths to .050 thousandths shorter than the 280 or the 280 AI
so when you load the 30/06 brass for the first time you need to use your 280 dies to size and leave
a donut that is still .30 cal to head space the cartridge for fire forming.

To do this , take one case remove the expander ball from the die, size it a little at a time, trying it in your chamber and as soon as you can close the bolt (With a little resistance) set/lock your dies and install the expander. you can start loading now. The shorter case will not hurt the performance,
In fact most of the 280 AIs will be accurate enough to hunt with during fire forming.

I would also recommend using the 280 rem go Gage instead of the New SAMME 280 AI go Gage
so you can shoot standard 280 rem ammo in it with out the excessive head space. (The new AI case
is shorter from the case head to the neck shoulder junction than the old 280 case.

Why complicate it when there are plenty of good .280 Rem brass (i.e. Norma) to fire form and what's wrong with .280 AI brass from Nosler.

There is nothing wrong with the Nosler brass. It is just a different size than the 280 and the "Old" 280 AI and if you chamber and head space with the New SAMME Spec go gage by Nosler you should shoot only the Nosler ammo in it. If you head space the new 280 AI chamber with the Old 280 head space go gage you can shoot all brands of 280 rem in it (It is easy to buy ammo and the performance is identical)

Nosler , like every other company changed the case head to shoulder to neck length so you would/should buy there ammo. I am a big fan of Nosler but you have to be aware that the head space is different between the two, (There was no SAMME spec for the 280 AI so they changed it and submitted the new dimensions to SAMME for approval and that is what it is now) The reamer can no longer make there reamers to the old 280 spec.

But they can make the "Old" 280 go Gage.

This is just a suggestion but look at the SAMME spec for the 280 Rem and then Look at the New SAMME spec for the 280 AI and you will see what I am talking about.

All of the 280 AI I have built can use any of the 280 brass as is and most shoot sub 1/2 moa during fire forming.

There is nothing wrong with the Nosler brass. It is just a different size than the 280 and the "Old" 280 AI and if you chamber and head space with the New SAMME Spec go gage by Nosler you should shoot only the Nosler ammo in it. If you head space the new 280 AI chamber with the Old 280 head space go gage you can shoot all brands of 280 rem in it (It is easy to buy ammo and the performance is identical)

Nosler , like every other company changed the case head to shoulder to neck length so you would/should buy there ammo. I am a big fan of Nosler but you have to be aware that the head space is different between the two, (There was no SAMME spec for the 280 AI so they changed it and submitted the new dimensions to SAMME for approval and that is what it is now) The reamer can no longer make there reamers to the old 280 spec.

But they can make the "Old" 280 go Gage.

This is just a suggestion but look at the SAMME spec for the 280 Rem and then Look at the New SAMME spec for the 280 AI and you will see what I am talking about.

All of the 280 AI I have built can use any of the 280 brass as is and most shoot sub 1/2 moa during fire forming.

Just a suggestion.

J E CUSTOM

Sorry, I should have made myself clear, the comment was not directed to you but to any new reloader. I understand about Nosler's change between the old AI and the new AI (SAAMI) that is is why I said why complicate it. Leave the more complicated reloading technique to the more advanced reloader for now until you gain more experience ... like the ability to shoot long range effectively, it does not happen overnight. Enjoy the learning experience.

Fireforming is part of the fun and learning experience. Keep it simple, pick a quality .280 Rem brass and fireform it to whichever .280 AI chambering you have and press on. I personally develop a load while fireforming.